Longtime friends Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift aren’t seated together at tonight’s MTV VMAs, nor did they pose together on the red carpet. But a tiny bit of distance didn’t stop them from showing just how deep their friendship goes.
Both were each other’s biggest fans when they took the stage to accept VMAs throughout the night. Gomez and Rema won for Best Afrobeats Video for their collaboration “Calm Down.” When Gomez was invited by Rema to give her own little acceptance speech, Swift ecstatically cheered for her.
Swift also appeared to get the people sitting around her to stand, too:
Earlier in the night, Gomez was filmed standing during Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Pop Video, her first win of the night, proof that the support goes both ways.
Swift and Gomez were also photographed together during the ceremony, talking and hugging. The series of photos are very cute—and mark the most public look at their friendship fans have gotten in a while:
Gomez and Swift first became friends in 2008 when they were both dating Jonas Brothers. (Gomez was with Nick while Swift was with Joe.)
In 2017, Gomez reflected on that origin story, telling KIIS FM UK that she and Swift met because “we actually dated the Jonas Brothers together! It was hysterical. It was amazing, because she was the girl with the big curly hair and all the bracelets and the cowboy boots. And I was definitely up-and-coming, and we just clicked. It was the best thing we got out of those relationships.”
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she's not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
